Elegant Spring Time Teas for Mother’s Day

Afternoon tea to woo mom

Afternoon tea is the perfect way to celebrate Mother’s Day and is a great social occasion and special time for people to come together and chat. A popular beverage all over the world, it is associated with sophistication and comfort.

There are over 3000 different types of tea in the world and the trick to brewing the perfect tea is to let the tea bag sit in the cup for up to 6 minutes. Allowing the tea to brew for this length of time means that the tea is properly infused and mixed in with the water. It also allows it to cool to a more comfortable drinking temperature (the ideal drinking temperature is about 60C) so that you don’t burn your tongue!

As tea is associated with being comforting and cosy, it is usually the accompanying beverage to a range of afternoon snacks such as sandwiches, cakes and pastries. A perfect mid afternoon snack, tea time sandwiches can have simple fillings or can be made up of more intricate ingredients. The key to a successful tea time sandwich is to have something tasty yet simple.

A very popular yet simple recipe is the Cucumber Tea Time Finger Sandwiches. All you need is a loaf of sliced bread (wholemeal or white is up to you!), whipped cream cheese spread and one cucumber. First, spread the cream cheese over the bread and then cover in slices of cucumber, cover with another slice of bread to make a sandwich and then cut the crusts off your slices of bread. Cut the slices diagonally to make triangles and arrange on a plate. Find more finger sandwich recipes on Recipebridge.

Hosting a tea party for Mother’s Day

The idea of hosting a perfect tea party for Mother’s Day is to get the right amount of bite size snacks. Petit fours (a variety of sweet confectionery treats) are perfect afternoon tea time snacks made up of an assortment of biscuits, pastries and other desserts.

In addition to tea, sandwiches, and petit fours, bite size cookies and tarts are also a popular choice for tea time. Cookies such as an assortment of shortbreads, sandwiched cookies or other small treats go perfectly with a well brewed cup of tea. Fruit tarts are particularly decadent at tea time due to their mixture of textures and flavours. These are custard filled cups of pastry and often topped with glazed fresh fruit and maybe a dollop of jam.

Find recipes for petit fours on Recipebridge.

If you want to have a different kind of Mother’s Day treat then set out a table in your garden in the shade. Set out your plates and cups in a pretty way – don’t forget little touches such as a tablecloth or seat cushions maybe even balloons can add extra charm to the occasion! If the weather is poor outside, a cosy tea party to celebrate Mother’s Day will go down just as well and any guests will love the combination of lovely tea and the mixture of bite size snacks.

Find more tea recipes on Recipebridge.